Great Britain

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 3, 2015

Growing number of rich British citizens are 'non-domiciled' under Edwardian-era tax rule, where they do not have to pay tax on foreign income or assets, only on money they earn in Britain; to qualify, they only need show their fathers were born outside country and they intend to return to that place; as result, national debate arises over inequality, tax havens and government austerity. MORE

Mar. 2, 2015

German utility RWE and Russian-controlled investment firm L1 Energy plan to complete deal for oil and gas subsidiary RWE Dea, in spite of objections by Britain. MORE

Feb. 27, 2015

British man Mohammed Emwazi is identified as masked Islamic State fighter called 'Jihadi John,' who presided over Islamic State beheading in 2014 video; Emwazi was living normal life as computer science student in London as recently as 2009, but came to attention of British intelligence services in May of that year; question of how Emwazi was radicalized, and whether British intelligence was at fault, has become subject of intense debate. MORE

Feb. 27, 2015

Report finds that British television host Jimmy Savile had freewheeling access in hospital where he sexually abused more than 60 patients over two decades. MORE

Feb. 26, 2015

French-Dutch digital security company Gemalto says it believes American and British intelligence services hacked into company's networks over period of two years, beginning in 2010, in order to collect mobile phone records; report is based on records obtained by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

Authorities say young Scottish woman Aqsa Mahmood, who went to Syria in 2013, is one of most active recruiters of young British women to join Islamic State; they are investigating possible links between her and disappearance of three teenage girls from London, who are thought to have gone to Syria to join ISIS; about 100 British women are among 550 Western women thought to have joined Islamist groups in Syria and Iraq. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

Former British Foreign Sec Malcolm Rifkind, after being accused of influence peddling, says he will resign as chairman of parliamentary panel and will not run for re-election to Parliament. MORE

Feb. 24, 2015

British lawmakers Malcolm Rifkind and Jack Straw face investigations after media sting conducted by Channel 4 and The Daily Telegraph caught them offering influence in exchange for money. MORE

Feb. 22, 2015

British Prime Min David Cameron calls on community and religious groups to do more to stop radicalization of young British Muslims and offers help to British schoolgirls believed to be traveling to Syria to join Islamic State. MORE

Feb. 21, 2015

House of Lords subcommittee condemns Britain and European Union for handling of crisis in Ukraine; say Europe failed to appreciate importance of Ukraine's relationship with Russia and that Britain did not live up to obligations in 1994 Budapest Memorandum. MORE

Feb. 20, 2015

Britain's Royal Air Force scrambles planes to intercept two Russian bombers off England's southwest coast; incident heightens concerns over Russia's intentions in Europe following advances by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. MORE

Feb. 20, 2015

Allianz Global Investors chief executive Elizabeth Corley heads financial industry group advising British government panel on fixing troubled markets; she is also writer of psychological thrillers. MORE

Feb. 19, 2015

European Commission proposes plan to streamline rules for financial markets that will make it easier for start-up companies to raise funds from sources other than banks, with goal of encouraging Britain to see European Union as economic opportunity. MORE

Feb. 18, 2015

Britain's Office for National Statistics reports inflation slowed in January to annual rate of 0.3 percent, lowest pace on record; attributes decline to falling energy prices and supermarket price wars. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

Bank of England says consumer prices in Britain will continue to fall in 2015, with chance of inflation declining below zero percent. MORE

Feb. 11, 2015

Members of Parliament questioned details involving leaked documents that describe how HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm helped clients like politicians and rock stars hide billions of dollars before 2007. MORE

Feb. 9, 2015

A scrapbook found in the archives of Sandwich, England, is found to contain a copy of Magna Carta. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

Paul Gadd, English singer widely known as Gary Glitter, is found guilty of sexually abusing three under age girls decades ago. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

British government sharply criticizes authorities in town of Rotherham for failure to address sexual abuse ring perpetrated by gangs of men, mainly of Pakistani descent, from 1997 to 2013; says legislators' incompetence and denial damaged both child victims and Pakistani community, leading to increased racism and xenophobia. MORE

Feb. 4, 2015

Britain's House of Commons votes to permit in vitro creation of babies utilizing DNA of three people, procedure designed especially for women who have mitochondrial defects; if law passes in House of Lords, Britain will be first country to allow technique involving changing human egg or embryo before transferring it to womb. MORE

Feb. 1, 2015

Memo From London; study released by Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs, finds that more than 60 percent of Britons still want a global role, about 30 percent would rather see closer ties with European Union rather than Washington and, of those who do have an opinion, more than 70 percent favor continued EU membership MORE

Jan. 28, 2015

British officials start public investigation of death of former KGB officer and Kremlin critic Alexander V Litvinenko, who died of radiation poisoning in 2006; lawyers for Litvinenko's widow say they plan to present evidence leading directly Russian Pres Vladimir V Putin and his ties to Russian Mafia. MORE

Jan. 27, 2015

British officials confirm reports in tabloid The Sun that unidentified prankster first obtained private cellphone number for Robert Hannigan, director of Government Communications Headquarters agency, and then called Prime Min David Cameron in his name; GCHQ is responsible for electronic surveillance and works closely with National Security Agency. MORE

Jan. 27, 2015

Birmingham Journal; European Union officials are in process of determining whether Birmingham Balti, type of Pakistani curry popularized in British city of Birmingham, should be recognized as one of country's traditional specialties; question is particularly trenchant given origins of dish and current debate about immigration and assimilation in Europe. MORE

Jan. 27, 2015

Church of England consecrates Rev Libby Lane, first women ever to serve as bishop, at York Minister in Stockport. MORE

Jan. 27, 2015

British researchers at Met Office and University of East Anglia release report that shows 2014 as hottest year on record, bolstering findings by NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration about global warming caused by human activity. MORE

Jan. 25, 2015

Long-awaited public inquiry into 2006 poisoning death of former KGB officer Alexander V Litvinenko, who, from his death bed, accused Russian Pres Vladimir Putin of ordering his murder, is set to begin in London. MORE

Jan. 24, 2015

Manhattan British goods store Tea & Sympathy will feel impact of settlement between Let's Buy British Imports, or LLB, and Hershey's Company, agreeing to stop importing all Cadbury's chocolate made overseas. MORE

Jan. 20, 2015

Newly disclosed classified document shows that British intelligence services intercepted email messages to journalists for at least dozen international media organizations at end of 2008, as well as emails sent to United Nations officials and thousands of other people; document is part of trove leaked by Edward J Snowden. MORE

Jan. 17, 2015

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, fifth in line for British throne, is in news again as allegations resurface that he had sex with a minor, claim denied by Buckingham Palace; incident highlights larger issue of how royal family members who have no real likelihood of gaining throne can make a life for themselves without any defined public role. MORE

Jan. 17, 2015

Pres Obama and British Prime Min David Cameron, during meeting at White House, pledge to work together closely to confront growing extremist threat around the world; announce they will step up efforts to strengthen cybersecurity and training of Iraqi military to bolster fight against Islamic State. MORE

Jan. 14, 2015

Former British Prime Min Tony Blair defends government's decision to issue Irish Republican Army fugitives written promises they will be not be arrested; denies keeping plan secret. MORE

Jan. 14, 2015

British inflation falls to 0.5 percent in December, far lower than Bank of England's 2 percent annual target; decline, attributed to falling oil and food prices, is welcomed by economists. MORE

Jan. 13, 2015

Royal Free Hospital in London says Pauline Cafferkey, nurse infected with Ebola virus in Sierra Leone in December 2014, has emerged from critical condition. MORE

Jan. 10, 2015

Andrew Parker, director general of Britain's MI5, demands greater authority to fight threat of Islamist extremism; says militants are planning attacks in Britain like one that killed 12 people at satirical newspaper in Paris; holds that debate on security and its challenge to privacy will sharpen in Western countries. MORE

Jan. 8, 2015

German Chancellor Angela Merkel pays visit to British Prime Min David Cameron; leaders hope that visit will help mollify those in Cameron's party who are demanding that Great Britain exit from European Union. MORE

Jan. 6, 2015

Hoegh Autoliners, owner of 57,000-ton car transporter Hoegh Osaka now beached on sandbank off British port of Southampton, praises crew for taking swift action to save vessel by running it aground as it began to list; fate of transporter stands in contrast to Cemfjord, bulk-cement carrier that capsized and sank in British waters. MORE

Jan. 4, 2015

Pauline Cafferkey, Scottish nurse who was found to have Ebola after returning from volunteer work in Sierra Leone, is in critical condition at hospital in London. MORE

Jan. 4, 2015

Dec. 29, 2014

Paul Krugman Op-Ed column notes economies in United States and Great Britain have begun to grow after loosening of austerity policies; rejects arguments by some fiscal conservatives that economies are bouncing back because of cutbacks; argues growth is instead due to cessation of such policies; holds economic picture looks brighter for 2015, particularly if austerity is kept to minimum. MORE

Dec. 28, 2014

Letter from Europe; death at age 70 of Mandy Rice-Davies, once notorious in Great Britain due to 1963 sex scandal, offers window into a time in British history that has increasingly been seen as much darker than previously thought; Rice-Davies was high school dropout, one whose story would be treated much differently today due to current protective views on juvenile vulnerability. MORE

Dec. 28, 2014

Great Britain has announced plans to pay off debts accrued over hundreds of years, dating back to 1720, due to record low interest rates; move underscores how government debt can be passed from generation to generation. MORE

Dec. 24, 2014

Opposing parties in Northern Ireland reach deal on austerity budget dispute with Britain, as well as issues of religious animosity; agreement averts collapse of power-sharing government established 16 years earlier. MORE

Dec. 24, 2014

German stand-up comedian Henning Wehn has made living in his new home in London by mocking Brittish stereotypes of Germans; Wehn's success suggests such cliches no longer have emotional weight of past and can be laughed about. MORE

Dec. 22, 2014

New York Times investigation reveals that American, British and Indian intelligence agencies failed to coordinate data that could have prevented 2008 Mumbai attacks that claimed 166 lives; Indian and British agents had been monitoring suspicious online activity of Zarrar Shah, technology chief of terrorist group Lakshar-e Taibia, but declined to act, despite series of warnings about plot from America. MORE

Dec. 20, 2014

North Sea oil producers in Great Britain are being hit hard by falling oil prices; low prices could mean many older oil and gas fields will be shut down, and $27 billion worth of new development could be dropped, threatening jobs of nearly half million workers in industry. MORE

Dec. 18, 2014

Official British investigation concludes that nine Iraqis captured by British soldiers after 2004 battle during Iraq war were mistreated at times, but that allegations of murder and torture are false; report clears British forces of worst charges against them. MORE

Dec. 17, 2014

Controversy over size of annual catering subsidy for Britain's House of Lords, which covered nearly 17,000 bottles of Champagne, is heightened by report on widespread hunger in the country and plans for deep budget cuts. MORE

Dec. 17, 2014

British Prime Min David Cameron's government lays out some options for answering question of who should have say on measures that exclusively concern England; announcement is opening move in wrangle that is likely to color general election in May 2015. MORE

{"type":"article","show_header_text":false,"header":"Articles About Great Britain","query":"","search_query":"(glocations.contains:\"Great Britain\" OR glocations.contains:\"\\(Great Britain\\)\") AND -type_of_material:\"Editorial\" AND -type_of_material:\"Correction\" AND -type_of_material:\"Obituary\" AND -type_of_material:\"paid death notice\" AND -headline:\"paid notice\" AND -type_of_material:\"Caption\" AND -type_of_material:\"Summary\" AND -type_of_material:\"Schedule\" AND -type_of_material:\"Letter\" AND -news_desk:\"Travel\" AND -news_desk:\"Escapes\" AND -news_desk:\"Dining\" AND -news_desk:\"Fashion\" AND -news_desk:\"Fashions\" AND -news_desk:\"Style\" AND -news_desk:\"Styles\" AND -news_desk:\"Society\" AND -news_desk:\"Home\" AND -news_desk:\"Home\/Style\" AND -news_desk:\"Living\" AND -news_desk:\"Beauty\" AND -news_desk:\"Design\" AND -news_desk:\"Theater\" AND -subject:\"Theater\" AND -news_desk:\"Movies\" AND -subject:\"Motion Pictures\" AND -subject:\"Movies\" AND -news_desk:\"Great Homes and Destinations\"","num_search_articles":"30","show_summary":true,"show_byline":true,"show_pub_date":true,"hide_thumbnails":false,"show_kicker":false,"show_title":false,"show_related_topics":true,"show_rad_links":true,"show_subtopics":true,"exclude_topics":"GREAT BRITAIN","more_on_header":"MORE ON GREAT BRITAIN AND:","alternate_index_subidx":"","show_thumbnails":true}

The completion of the deal has been slowed by regulators’ concerns that Mikhail Fridman or his company might be targeted by expanded sanctions on the Russian energy industry stemming from the Ukraine conflict.

In 2010, Iran complained that the two countries did not comply with the Chemical Weapons Convention when they secretly destroyed at least 5,000 pieces of old Iraqi chemical ordnance after invading the country in 2003. After the complaint, the British government disclosed some information about its activities. The United States did not.